1Then went Samson to Gaza , and saw there an harlot , and went in unto her. 2And it was told the Gazites , saying , Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in , and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city , and were quiet all the night , saying , In the morning , when it is day , we shall kill him. 3And Samson lay till midnight , and arose at midnight , and took the doors of the gate of the city , and the two posts , and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders , and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron . 4And it came to pass afterward , that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek , whose name was Delilah . 5And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth , and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver .
The Betrayal
6And Delilah said to Samson , Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth , and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. 7And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried , then shall I be weak , and be as another man . 8Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried , and she bound him with them. 9Now there were men lying in wait , abiding with her in the chamber . And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson . And he brake the withs , as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire . So his strength was not known . 10And Delilah said unto Samson , Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies : now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound . 11And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied , then shall I be weak , and be as another man . 12Delilah therefore took new ropes , and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson . And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber . And he brake them from off his arms like a thread . 13And Delilah said unto Samson , Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies : tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound . And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web . 14And she fastened it with the pin , and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson . And he awaked out of his sleep , and went away with the pin of the beam , and with the web .
Samson's Capture
15And she said unto him, How canst thou say , I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times , and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth . 16And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words , and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death ; 17That he told her all his heart , and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head ; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb : if I be shaven , then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak , and be like any other man . 18And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart , she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines , saying , Come up this once , for he hath shewed me all his heart . Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand . 19And she made him sleep upon her knees ; and she called for a man , and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head ; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. 20And she said , The Philistines be upon thee, Samson . And he awoke out of his sleep , and said , I will go out as at other times before , and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. 21But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes , and brought him down to Gaza , and bound him with fetters of brass ; and he did grind in the prison house .
Samson's Redemption
22Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven . 23Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god , and to rejoice : for they said , Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand . 24And when the people saw him, they praised their god : for they said , Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy , and the destroyer of our country , which slew many of us. 25And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry , that they said , Call for Samson , that he may make us sport . And they called for Samson out of the prison house ; and he made them sport : and they set him between the pillars . 26And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand , Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth , that I may lean upon them. 27Now the house was full of men and women ; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women , that beheld while Samson made sport . 28And Samson called unto the LORD , and said , O Lord GOD , remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once , O God , that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes . 29And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood , and on which it was borne up , of the one with his right hand , and of the other with his left . 30And Samson said , Let me die with the Philistines . And he bowed himself with all his might ; and the house fell upon the lords , and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life . 31Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down , and took him, and brought him up , and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father . And he judged Israel twenty years .